The Bet
by TheGovernorsDaughter
Summary: Taki makes a bet with Iko - he knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows the Avatar. So, he writes his cousin Lee...


"Hey! Hey, Hiro!" the small boy said, running up to his friend on the school playground and tapping his shoulder. "Me and Iko have a bet."

"Yeah, a really lame one," complained Iko, walking up behind the boy.

"What is it?" Hiro asked, looking up from his book, _1,000 Earth Nation Victories._

"Well, Iko says he bets I don't know anyone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows the Avatar," the boy said.

"Iko's probably right, Taki," agreed Hiro. "I sure don't."

"Well, ask someone you know. And have them ask someone they know," declared Taki, before grabbing Iko's arm and running off to play Earth-soccer.

"Mom! A messanger hawk just came with a letter from cousin Hiro!" Lee said excitedly. "Mom, can I open it? Can I open it? Please? Pretty please, can I open it?"

"Wait 'til your father comes home, Lee."

"But I want to open it now!" argued Lee, jumping up and down.

"You'll have to occupy yourself until your father comes home, and then we'll open it," his mother replied decisively. Lee turned and marched out the door.

When he got into the city, he had only a few copper pieces to have fun with. As soon as he saw Gow, though, he knew exactly what he wanted to do with them.

"Two eggs, please!"

"This guy just stood up to the soldiers! By the end, he practically had them running away!" Lee told his parents.

"Does this guy have a name?" his mother asked, smiling.

"I'm…uh…." The man tried to respond.

"He doesn't have to say who he is if he doesn't want to, Sela," Lee's father said. "Anyone who can hold his own against those bully soldiers is welcome here. Those men should be ashamed to wear Earth Kingdom uniforms."

"The real soldiers are off fighting the War, like Lee's big brother Sensu," agreed Lee's mother, Sela. "Supper's going to be ready soon. Would you like to stay?"

"I can't. I should be moving on," the man said, shaking his head.

Sela frowned. "Gansu could use some help on the barn. Why don't you two work for a while, and then we'll eat."

The man nodded and followed the father, Gansu. There, he began hammering nails into a roof – and not very well, either. Lee followed his mother into the kitchen.

"Mom, can I open Hiro's letter, please, please, PLEASE?" begged Lee.

Sela smiled, ruffling her son's messy brown hair. "Yes, Lee, but he very, very careful with the letter opener, understand?"

"Yep!" yelped Lee, running off to grab the letter and the letter opener. Then, he opened the letter from his cousin and read out loud to his mother. "_Hi, everyone. Mother, Father and I have been having a great time living in Gaoling for the past three months and we're very sorry we haven't been able to write you since then. Father's got a job working at a nearby school, while mother's gotten a job cooking for the Bei Fong family! Can you believe it? I think we'll be living in Gaoling for a long time._

"_How have you all been? Personally, I just started at a really nice school, nicer than the one I used to go to and nicer than the one my Dad teaches at, because it's Earthbenders only. My best friend is named Iko. He's just like me._

"_I wanted to write you because one of my other friends make a bet with Iko, saying he bet he knew someone who knew someone who knew someone who knew someone who knew the Avatar. I'm the first 'someone' he asked, and since you live so far away, I thought there was a chance you knew someone who knew him. Ask anyone you think may know him. I can't wait to talk to you again soon. Sincerely, your cousin, Hiro."_

Sela smiled at me. "It's so nice they're enjoying Gaoling. When my sister, Min, moved there, I was SURE she would have preferred Ba Sing Se, but –"

"That's nice, Mom. I have to go ask the weird guy a question."

"So, you don't seem like you're from around here."

The man shook his head.

"Where are you from then?"

"Far away."

"Oh. Where are you going?"

Gansu turned towards his son. "Lee, give it a rest. Stop asking the man personal questions, got it?"

"Yeah," sighed Lee. "So, how'd you get that scar?" The man accidentally his is thumb with the hammer.

Gansu shook his head. "It's not nice to bother people about things they might not want to talk about. A man's past is his business."

Lee sighed. "Well, my cousin, Hiro, wrote me today."

"Hiro wrote?" Gansu asked. "Is he liking Gaoling?"

"Yeah, a whole bunch! I wanted to ask you, though, Mr," he said, turning back to the man. "If you ever met the Avatar. 'Cuz Hiro has a friend who made a bet that said his friend doesn't know anyone who knows someone who knows someone who knows the Avatar. So, do you know the Avatar?" The man said nothing in response. He seemed to be staring at nothing. Lee tapped him impatiently on the shoulder. "Hey! Do you know the Avatar?" The man snapped back.

"What?"

"Do you know the Avatar?"

The man's eyes widened before he settled down again. "Yeah. I do."

"Really?" Lee jumped up. "No way!"

"Yeah. I've met him a couple of times."

"This is so cool! I'll have to write Hiro back and tell him as soon as possible!" Lee ran back to the house.

"So, guess what my little cousin, Lee, told me?" Hiro told Iko and Taki.

"What?" Iko said, flipping through Hiro's book.

Hiro grinned. "He met a man in town the other day that knew the Avatar."

"Shuddup."

"No, seriously. He told me that he'd met him a couple of times."

"Didn't you say your cousin was, like, eight? How can we trust him?" Iko asked smugly.

"I don't know. He IS my cousin, though. Don't our parents always tell us to trust family?" Hiro said, crossing his arms.

"Well, I heard the Fire Nation prince just got labeled a traitor by his own sister. Not that trusting there, are they?" Iko responded.

"That's the Fire Nation. They're messed up there." Hiro angrily grabbed his book back from Iko and leaned again the school's wall.

Iko smiled. "It doesn't matter anyway. I found someone who's met the Avatar, too."

"Who?"

"Did your mom tell you about a huge dinner she had to make a while ago – for Master Yu and three other people along with Mr. and Mrs. Bei Fong and Toph?" Iko asked Hiro.

"Yeah, why?"

Taki shook his head. "Wait, who's Toph?"

"It's an inside thing, Taki. I'll tell you some other time. Anyway, the people staying there were the Avatar's posse!" Iko said.

"You're kidding."

"Nope! My mom specifically asked Avatar Aang himself if he needed anything! She told me it took all her concentration not to stutter," Iko promised, smirking.

"My mom made dinner for the Avatar? This is crazy!" Hiro said, giving Iko a high-five.

"Right?" agreed Iko.

"So, now we know two people who know the Avatar!"

"If you're little cousin's not a liar."

"Not the point."

Taki raised his hand. "I still don't know who Toph is."

"Get lost, Taki," said Iko.

"Yeah," agreed Hiro.


End file.
